Dam It, Janet

What’s the current stand on plastic wrap as
a dental dam? There's the “non-microwavable” thing [using non-microwavable
plastic wrap instead of microwavable], which I thought referred to the days of
yore when plastic wrap that was microwavable had visible perforations in it.
Non-microwavable plastic wrap doesn’t even exist anymore, does it? I still see
legit sex ed Web sites referencing it, though. Also, I'm finding mixed info on
whether viruses are small enough to pass through plastic wrap. Any thoughts?

For those unfamiliar with "dental" dams
(so called because they were originally used during dental work), they are
rectangles of latex or polyurethane that can be held against the vulva during
cunnilingus or against the anus during analingus or rimming. They act as a
barrier to the transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Many
sexuality educators also say that common household plastic wrap can be used for
the same purpose, or that you can cut open a condom to make a rectangle and use
that.

Dental dams have been a frequent topic of discussion
in my life recently, because my peer health educators believe that they're not
commonly used or well-known, especially outside of the lesbian or queer
communities. We just changed the safer sex kits that we distribute to include
flavored condoms, flavored lubricant, instructions for cutting a condom into a
dam, and information about STIs that can be transmitted during oral sex. We
also stepped up our efforts to have dams available for free during our outreach
events. Our hope is that the more people learn and hear about them, the more
"normal" they'll seem, and it'll be less awkward to whip out that
latex square when you're about to go down on someone.

The standard caution about not using
"microwavable" plastic wrap as a safer sex barrier has almost reached
urban legend status at this point. As I mentioned in last week's column about
HIV prevention, safer sex messages have gone through many iterations over the
past couple of decades. When dental dams were first re-purposed from the
dentist's office by enterprising sex educators, there was indeed a brand of
plastic wrap that was marketed as "microwavable" and that actually
had visible perforations in it to allow steam to escape while food was cooking.
Nowadays, plastic wrap that is labeled as microwavable is designed to withstand
high heat and not melt if it comes into contact with hot food, but it is not
any more porous than other plastic wrap. Most people probably don't even
remember the perforated kind, but everyone's afraid to stop putting in that
caveat about avoiding microwavable wrap in case they're wrong.

In terms of the efficacy of plastic wrap in
preventing STIs, the only dam on the market that has actually been tested in
this regard is the Glyde brand latex dam. This is why Glyde dams have clear
instructions for use on them and are allowed to be labeled as a device that
reduces the risk of STI transmission. Everything else, including polyurethane
dams such as Hot Dam and Lixx as well as plastic wrap, is basically predicated
on the common-sense idea that a nonporous plastic or latex barrier will prevent
STIs, but there's been no scientific research to prove this, with the exception
of Glyde.

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Laura Anne Stuart has a master’s degree in
public health and has worked as a sexuality educator for more than a decade.
She owns theTool Shed,
an erotic boutique on Milwaukee’s East Side.